


The Big Empty 2.0

by saoirse9



Category: Supernatural
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Character Death Fix, Fix-It, Light Angst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Sam Winchester Deserves to be Happy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and bring Gabriel back, just let Sam be happy, mainly sabriel, mentions of Destiel, okay lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 17:50:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16917492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saoirse9/pseuds/saoirse9
Summary: At that moment, somewhere outside the created universe, where it was black and silent, someone was stirring. He shifted and his eyelids fluttered as he struggled to gain awareness. Not long before, it seemed he’d heard something in the stillness surrounding him. Or, well, maybe ‘heard’ wasn’t the right word, but something had disturbed him. He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, a word drifted from his lips into the silence. “Sam,” he breathed.





	The Big Empty 2.0

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so it took me a little bit to get this typed up, but I actually started writing it right after s14e2 (Gods and Monsters) and finished it after s14e3 (The Scar). So everything that happened after that just... didn't happen in this story.

“The tears I feel today

I'll wait to shed tomorrow.

Though I'll not sleep this night

Nor find surcease from sorrow.

My eyes must keep their sight:

I dare not be tear-blinded.

I must be free to talk

Not choked with grief, clear-minded.

My mouth cannot betray

The anguish that I know.

Yes, I'll keep my tears til later:

But my grief will never go.”

― Anne McCaffrey, Dragonsinger

 

***

 

“Okay, that’s it for tonight. Get some rest, everyone.” Sam dismissed the group of fledgling hunters and watched as they wandered out of the war room, talking and laughing with each other. The last to leave were Cas and Dean, the elder Winchester pausing in the doorway to give his brother a concerned look. Sam shot him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. It must have worked because Dean smiled back and said, “Get some rest, man,” before following Cas down the hall to their room. The sight made Sam grin a little as he thought back to that particular new beginning; a month ago, Jack had called to say he and Cas were returning earlier than planned from their hunting trip because the angel had been injured. Dean had begun anxiously pacing and didn’t stop until Cas walked through the door, whereupon the hunter had launched himself at the angel, checked that his injury was healing, and promptly kissed him senseless; the two had been practically inseparable ever since and Sam was truly happy they had finally stopped dancing around each other.

But as soon as he was alone, the younger Winchester’s smile dropped and his shoulders slumped as he hunched in on himself. It seemed that ever since their arrival from apocalypse-world, everyone had slowly begun pairing off: first, many of the refugees now that they didn’t need to worry about constantly fighting for their lives, later his mom and other Bobby, and now even his brother and best friend. It wasn’t that he wasn’t glad his friends and family had found happiness, it was just that, well, looking from the outside in was pretty lonely. Rationally, Sam knew that no one was actually excluding him; in fact, he knew several of the new hunters that would be more than happy to warm his bed at night, though he had turned them all down politely but firmly. The truth was, the quiet contentment radiating from those around him only served to highlight his own despair, which seemed to flow straight from a small, rather trickster-archangel shaped hole in his heart. Sam’s shoulders sagged even further when he thought about Gabriel. It just wasn’t fair. He had only barely begun truly getting to know the golden-eyed trickster and discovered that he actually rather liked the Gabriel beneath the cheeky façade, not to mention the increasingly flirtatious nature of their relationship, when the archangel was once more ripped away, this time seemingly for good. For a while, Sam had hoped that Gabriel had pulled a fast one on them again and would come strolling into the bunker, a “gotcha!” smirk fixed firmly on his face. But as weeks and then months went by with no sign of him, Sam had given in to the crushing realization that Gabriel wasn’t coming back this time.

The hunter sighed. Dean was right, he did need to rest. Slowly, the younger Winchester made his way to his bedroom, grateful that everyone seemed to have taken his suggestion and retired for the night. Right now, he just didn’t feel up to pretending that he wasn’t miserably grief-stricken. And, at the moment, he just couldn’t conceal that he was carrying an immense amount of guilt for convincing Gabriel to join them in the first place. As he did most nights, Sam sank under the knowledge that he had inadvertently caused the destruction of the one being in all of creation who he felt might have truly understood him. He had known Gabriel was dangerously weak and had still encouraged the angel to venture through the rift with them.

The hunter finally reached his room and changed into sleep clothes before dropping onto his bed and curling in on himself. His eyes burned and he shut them tightly, trying to prevent his emotions from spilling over. It didn’t work; a single, traitorous tear trickled from the corner of his eye and he bit back a sob. He didn’t know why, but tonight he felt like he needed Gabriel back more than ever. His tears flowed more freely now and his chest ached with suppressed grief. In the swirling chaos of his mind, he cried out, irrationally praying to the dead archangel, ‘Gabriel, please. Please just do this one thing for me. Just one more thing. Just one more miracle, Gabriel, for me. Don’t… be… dead. Would you, just for me, just stop it? Stop this. I – I need you. Gabriel, I need you.’

Slowly, Sam’s desperate pleading faded as his shaky sobs began to even out. Tears still trickled from his eyes, but he was exhausted and he soon drifted into a troubled sleep, clinging to memories of whiskey colored eyes and a silvery laugh.

***

At that moment, somewhere outside the created universe, where it was black and silent, someone was stirring. He shifted and his eyelids fluttered as he struggled to gain awareness. Not long before, it seemed he’d heard something in the stillness surrounding him. Or, well, maybe ‘heard’ wasn’t the right word, but something had disturbed him. He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, a word drifted from his lips into the silence. “Sam,” he breathed.

Suddenly, golden eyes blinked open and Gabriel sat up, momentarily disoriented in the total darkness. Where was he? And why did he have the overwhelming need to seek out Sam Winchester? The archangel inhaled slowly, trying to gather his scattered thoughts and order them into some semblance of meaning. The last things he remembered were the other world exodus, Michael’s arrival, and deciding he was done running because he finally had something (or _someone_ whispered a small corner of his mind) to fight for. He remembered the odd mix of respect and terror in Sam’s eyes at his declaration. He remembered squaring off against the angel who wasn’t really his brother and then… oh, dad. Gabriel buried his face in his hands as the realization hit him: the other Michael had killed him, had mercilessly shoved a blade right through his heart. And now the archangel knew where he was, too – The Empty, a place his eldest brothers had spoken of only in whispers, a place he hadn’t truly believed existed until Cas told him of his ordeal. And even then, he had doubted his little brother’s horrific description of the place angels went to be forgotten. Well, until now, that is.

It was just as bad as baby bro had said, maybe even worse. He couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t even sense anything when he reached out with his grace. Gabriel shuddered. And he’d thought being cut off from Heaven was bad… At least then he’d had humans and the pagan gods to draw on. Now, though… The archangel briefly considered just falling back to sleep – it would be so easy, just sink back into that nothingness and never have to decide or fight or regret ever again. Yes, just sleep… Gabriel could feel his eyelids growing heavy as he began to drift back down. But something was niggling at the edge of his thoughts, something that would not be ignored.

The angel sat back up with a sigh. What was it that just wouldn’t go away? As he wracked his brain, a little voice seemed to whisper, “Sam wouldn’t want you to give up. He believes in you. He’s waiting for you. He needs you.” Gabriel felt his breath catch. Sam… He couldn’t abandon Sam. The hunter had been so careful with him, so gentle with Gabriel’s brokenness, had believed in the archangel with very little proof that he should, had inspired him to step up the way he should have millennia ago. And Sam needed him – he had said so himself. How could Gabriel ignore that? Suddenly, desperately pleading words, in a familiar rich voice that he’d only heard that broken once before, seemed to echo in his ears. “Just one more miracle, Gabriel, for me. Don’t… be… dead… Gabriel, I need you.”

The archangel bit back a sob and didn’t wonder anymore what had awakened him from his terrible sleep. “Thank you, Sam,” he whispered. “I _will_ find my way back to you, I promise.” Now, how had Castiel said he’d escaped this place?

Oh, yeah… Gabriel lifted his voice and called out, “Hey, whatever you are, I know you’re out there! I know you’re awake and don’t want to be, so get your primordial ass over here and I might just let you go back to sleep!”

He didn’t have long to wait. In moments he could sense some… _thing_ behind him. The archangel turned, mentally steeling himself for what Castiel had described as one of the most disturbing experiences of his life. The younger angel hadn’t been exaggerating. Though Gabriel was no stranger to someone sharing his face, the feel of the being behind his features made the angel’s grace recoil.

“You rang, Gabriel?” the Thing asked, a note in its voice that would have made the archangel lose his nerve if not for the memory of Sam’s desolate cry whispering through his mind. Gabriel straightened to his full height, resolve strengthened.

“Yeah, I did. It seems I’m needed back on Earth and word is you’re the only way out of this joint. So let’s get to it.”

The being pressed its lips into a thin line and narrowed its eyes. “I knew it. Give in one time and everyone thinks they can get away with leaving. But not this time, oh no, this time I am making you go back to sleep. Castiel may have annoyed his way out of here, but you are staying put.”

Gabriel threw back his head and laughed. “Clearly you do _not_ know who you’re dealing with. You thought my brother was annoying? Just wait until you get a load of me! And I won’t be going back alone, either. The best of my brothers and sisters are coming with. If you even try sending me by myself, I _will_ go all Dr. Strange vs. Dormammu on your ass, don’t think I won’t. So shall we get started?” The angel reached into his pocket and pulled out his golden kazoo.

But the being interrupted him before he could even take a breath and this time, its tone was wheedling, persuasive. “Oh, come now, Gabriel, you don’t really want to go back there, do you? To that pain, that suffering? To a family that never cared about you? I mean, c’mon, Gabriel, you know nobody there wants or needs you around, don’t you?”

The archangel could feel himself faltering in the face of the being’s reasoning; living _was_ painful. Did he really want to have to deal with that again? But then the thing slipped up. No one wanted him? No one needed him? That was bullshit and Gabriel knew it. Sam’s words echoed once more in his thoughts – “Don’t… be… dead… Gabriel, I need you.” The angel threw his shoulders back, his eyes flaring blue as he faced down the being wearing his face. “That’s where you’re wrong. Someone does need me. And I think I need him, too. So you wanna play? Let’s play,” Gabriel growled. Then he lifted his kazoo to his lips.

***

Sam returned to consciousness with a start, momentarily disoriented. He was exhausted, so why exactly was he awake at… what time was it, anyway? He tried to shift to look at the clock on his nightstand and immediately stilled as he realized his chest seemed strangely constricted. “The hell…?” he muttered. It was almost like…

Suddenly the constriction shifted and a smooth voice chirped, “Mornin’, Samshine!”

Like someone was sitting on his back. The hunter almost fell off his bed in shock, but two strong hands grabbed and steadied him, then helped him sit up. Sam found himself staring into the pair of golden eyes that had haunted his dreams for months.

“G-Gabriel?” he managed, almost speechless with amazement.

The archangel grinned. “The one and only! Although, not alone. That little angel problem we were having? Not a problem anymore.”

“But… but you were – “ Sam stuttered, not even trying to process the information about the other angels just yet.

“Dead as a doornail? Pushing up daisies? Belly up?” Gabriel quipped. “Indeed I was.” But then the angel sobered. “I would have slept in that place, in the Empty, forever, if not for…” he trailed off, glancing away.

“If not for what?” asked the hunter.

Gabriel brought his eyes back up to meet Sam’s in a look so fervent that the human felt his breath catch. “If not for you, Sam. I heard you. You woke me up. You brought me back. I gotta say, that is some faith you have there, kiddo.”

“What?” Sam whispered, stunned. “Me? But… how?”

The angel smiled gently at the hunter. “Because you believed in me, Sam. You believed so fiercely, so powerfully, that your prayer got through. And it was magnificent. _You_ are magnificent.”

Sam just sat and breathed for a moment, staring at the being in front of him as if he still couldn’t quite trust his eyes. Gabriel started to get concerned and was about to ask if Sam had short-circuited when the hunter pulled the angel into such a fervid embrace that it would have knocked the breath out of a human.

The archangel blinked a few times before tentatively wrapping his arms around Sam. After a few moments, he tightened his grip, clinging as earnestly to Sam as the human was to him.

“I’m sorry, Gabriel. I’m so sorry. You died and it was my fault and… and…” he broke off, fighting a sob.

“It’s okay, Sam. It wasn’t your fault, I promise. And I’m here now. I came back. To you. And I don’t plan to leave again.”

The hunter sniffed back his impending tears, burying his face in the angel’s hair. “I know. But – “

Gabriel cut him off by pulling away and placing a finger over Sam’s lips. “No. No buts. You’re stuck with me now, Samsquatch.”

Sam laughed shakily and gave Gabriel a watery grin. “I think I can handle that.”

The archangel’s answering smile was so wide, it crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Good.” Then his expression softened into something warm and ardent. “Now you need to get some rest, kiddo. Okay? I’ll watch over you.” Gabriel stroked his hand down the side of Sam’s face, sending a gently wave of grace through the human, encouraging him to sleep.

“Mmkay.” Sam yawned and allowed the angel to put him back to bed. Gabriel ran his fingers through Sam’s soft hair and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head. But when he moved to stand up, he felt long fingers wrapping around his own, tugging him back. Gabriel looked down and Sam was gazing back at him, hazel eyes wide and imploring. “Stay?” he whispered.

The angel blinked, confused. “Of course, kiddo, I said I would.”

“No,” the hunter said, exasperation creeping into his tone. He breathed out slowly and his gaze was pleading once more. “Stay here. With me.”

If Gabriel had been human, his breath would have caught and his heart would have stuttered. Since he wasn’t, he just smiled softly and murmured, “Okay,” before sliding into the circle of Sam’s arms.

Later, as he lay with his head on Sam’s chest, listened to the measured breathing of the sleeping human, the steady thrum of his heart, Gabriel sighed, content. He knew the morning would bring a new set of problems – questions to answer, loose ends to tie up, newly resurrected angels to wrangle, rogue alternate universe evil to hunt down – but all that could wait. He was back where he belonged.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I decided Gabriel would come back with all his grace intact. He deserves that much, at least.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
